Funnel



Patented Feb. 12, 1935 PATENT OFFICE 1,990,556- FUNNEL Elvin DavidMacArthur, Old Hickory, Tenn., as signor to VDu Pont Rayon Company, NewYork, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application December 30, 1932,Serial No. 649,522` s claims. (ci. 11s- 49) It is an object of thisinvention to improve the manufacture of rayon. Another object of theinvention is to provide an improved funnel guide. Other objects of theinvention will be in part apparent and in part hereinafter set forth.

The objects of the invention are attained, generally, speaking, by theuse of a funnel of hard rubber or similar material having spaced insertsof porcelain or similar material. The objects of theinventionare-attained, specically speaking, by the means, method, anddetails of construction of the forms of the invention hereinafterdisclosed.

In the drawing Figure 1 represents a cross section through a. funnelconstructed in accordance with my invention. Figure 2 is an exteriorview of the same funnel. vFigure 3 illustrates means of repairing abroken funnel.

In Figures 1 and 2, 10 is a funnel; 11 is a screw thread, formedintegrally with the funnel, for mounting the funnel in the reciprocatingmechanism; 12 is an enlarged and preferably knurled portion of thefunnel to assist the operator in adjusting the funnel axially of thebucket; 13 is an enlarged portion at the end 0:15`

the funnel from which the thread leaves; 14 are porcelain inserts withinthe funnel to prevent contact of the thread with the funnel walls and tocenter the thread during its passage through the funnel; 15 is aporcelain facing for the inside of the enlarged portion 13 of thefunnel, of which the edge 151 forms the point of incidence of thethread.

The funnel can be made of suitable plastics among which may bementionedhard rubber, gutta percha, vinyl resins, phenol-formaldehyderesins, polyhydric alcohol-polybasic acid resins, and cellulosederivatives'. The best compositions of these various substances for thispurpose will be known to persons acquainted with the respective arts.The guide or guides may be made of other materials than porcelain; forinstance agate or other materials having a hard andsmooth surface andwhich are inert to the action of the coagulating bath may be used.

Another advantage of the funnel is that the use of -a porcelainmouthpiece the quantity of rayon damaged by contact with a rough funnellip. When the porcelain funnel mouth strikes the revolving bucket cover,which not infrequently happens when the doffer is raising or loweringthe funnel in the bucket, the edge may be nicked or a particle of thebucket cover may be vulcanizedA to the funnel lip. As the rayon slidesand revolves ,over this rough portion the thread is damaged. With aglass funnel it is dimcult to detect these aws but with the wideporcelain mouthpiece a black spot is made wherever the porcelain strikesthe bucket cover notifying the operator of the damage.

Another advantage of the funnel is in mounting and alinement. Glasstunnels are mounted in a rubber bushing with a fit which is usually sobad that the jarring of the traverse mechanisms causes the funnel lip topull away from the center of the bucket making kinks in the thread. Theelimination of the bushing and the casting of the screw threads directlyin the funnel simplifies the mechanism, and insures a rigid mountingwhich cannot get off-center.

As many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it is to beunderstood that I do not limit myself to the specific embodimentsthereof except as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a thread guide a hard rubber funnel enlarged at both ends, aporcelain facing for the interior and lower edge of the funnel, andporcelain inserts spaced within the funnel whereby thread passingthrough the funnel will be properly centered and prevented fromcontacting with the funnel walls.

2. In a funnel guide a hard rubber funnel having a threaded portion forcooperation with a threaded portion in a reciprocating bar, andporcelain facings for the interior of said funnel whereby thread' guidedthereby will be centered and provided with a minimum number of lowfriction places of contact.

3. In a guide a tube of hard rubber, and carried therewithin spacedporcelain guides ar-4 ranged to prevent contact of thread and tube.

4. In a guide a tube of hard rubber, and carried therewithin spacedagate guides arranged to prevent contact of thread and tube.

5. Ina funnel guide, a hardfrubber funnel having an enlarged end, apolished porcelain facing for the portion of the enlargement which maybe touched by the thread, and porcelain rings Within the funnel spacedfrom one another sufilciently to provide a minimum number of frictionalcontacts for the thread but being close enough to one another to preventtheJ thread from contacting the wall of the funnel.

6. A funnel guide having more than one section, adjacent sections beingconnected by a sleeve, and means within the funnel to prevent thecontact of thread with the joint.

ELVIN DAVID MACARTHUR.

CERTIFICATE 0F CORRECTION.

Patent No. 1,990,555. A February l2, 1935.

ELVIN DAVID MacARTHUR.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specificationof the above numbered-patent requiring correction as follows: Page i.,first column, before line I, insert the following paragraphs:

This invention relates Ato reciprocating tunnels such as are used in themanufacture of rayon to introduce a thread into a revolving bucket. Thisinvention will be described in its application to the manufacture ofrayon but it is to be understood that this description is given forfacility only and that the invention is applicable to all cases in whicha guide is used for the transferenceof thread.

In one ofthe methods of manufacturing rayon the regenerated cellulosethread is collected in a centrifugal bucket which revolves at highspeed. Within the bucket the thread is huilt -up` into the form of aVhollow cake. In order that the thread may be laid in the cake evenlyand in order that it may be readily unwound when withdrawn from thebucket, a reciprocating mechanism is used whereby the thread is .laidagainst the walls of the bucket in superimposed helices. Here'toforeglass funnels having their lower ends projecting into the bucket havebeen mounted on reciprocating bars to serve as thread guides. Thesefunnels are mad-e from selected pieces of glass tubing and vary greatlyas to outside and inside diameter and wall y thickness. It has beennecessary to form constrictions at intervals .in the tunnels in order tokeep the thread centered and to prevent the wet thread from draggingagainst the glass. The presence of these constrictions weakens thetunnels and, in combination with the natural brittleness of thesubstance, maires a funnel which breaks easily, necessitating frequentreplacements. Pieces of glass flying from the bro-'sen funnel often cutthe inside of the bucket and damage the rayon.

After line 34, insert the following paragraphs:

In Figure 3, 20 indicates the funnel generally, 21 indicates the portionof the funnel which the thread enters; 22 indicates screw threads bywhich the portion 2l of the funnel is attached to the portion 20; 23 isa line indicating a break in the funnel; 24 indicates screw threads inabutting ends of the broken sections; 25 indicates an interiorlyscrew-threaded sleeve by cooperation with which the sections of thefunnel are repaired; 26 indicates a repair made by swelling (as by heat)a Section of hard rubber of an interior diameter approximately equal tothe exterior diameter of the funnel sections until it can be placed overthe break in the funnel and thereafter shrinking it into place.

In the practice of my invention the funnel is mounted in a reciprocatingbar or other reciprocating mechanisms by means of screw thread 11 and isadjusted in its relation to the bucket by means of that screw thread.After' the adjustment ii' can be locked in position by means of a lc'anut (not shown), if desired. .The operator passes the thread through thefunnel into the interior of the revolving hue'et where it is picked upand formed into a cake in the manner known to those skilled in the` an.

3 February 12 1935 1,990,556 C Of C After line 46 insert the followingparagraph:

An advantage of this invention is a reduction in funnel breakage andcost of replacement. Another advantage of the funnel is that, if itbreaks, it does not shatter and score the interior of the bucket. A

Second column, after line 15, insert the following paragraph:

Another advantage of the funnel is the matter of salvage. Whereas thedamaging of a glass funnel permanently destroys its utility, tunnelsmade according to my invention, when broken, may readily be salvaged ashereinabove described in connection with Figure 3.

And that the said Letters Patent should be read with these correctionstherein that the same may conform to the record of the case in thePatent 0ffice.-

Signed and sealed this 23rd dayof April, A. D. 1935.

Leslie Frazer (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents.

